Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Preparing for DEVI NAVARATRI ...

Navaratri is October 9-17 with a special Durga Victory puja on the 18th. for the finale and liberation celebration ...

Lakshmi लक्ष्मी is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is the consort of Vishnu. Also called Mahalakshmi, she is said to bring good luck and is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of misery and money-related sorrows.

Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा, Durgā, meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible";"one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having ten arms, riding a lion or a tiger, carrying weapons and a lotus flower, maintaining a meditative smile, and practicing mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. An embodiment of creative feminine force (Shakti), Durga exists in a state of svātantrya (independence from the universe and anything/anybody else, i.e., self-sufficiency) and fierce compassion. Kaali is considered to be an aspect of Durga. She is thus considered the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's shakti, goddess Parvati. Durga manifests fearlessness and patience, and never loses her sense of humor, even during spiritual battles of epic proportion. Chamundi was created by the Celestials to conquer a pair of very fierce demons, which she did very efficiently.

This puja chants mantras to Durga, Kaali, Chamundi and the rest of the fierce Devis, as well as Hanuman to strengthen our prana.

Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती sarasvatī) is the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. She is the shakti of Brahma. Saraswati is considered to be the "mother of the Vedas". The name Saraswati came from "saras" (meaning "flow") and "wati" (meaning "a woman"). So, Saraswati is symbol of knowledge; its flow (or growth) is like a river and knowledge is supremely alluring, like a beautiful woman.

These three Great Devis are also three of the five parts of Gayatri and together also known as Tripura Sundari.